


Dean Winchester is No Good

by Sauric



Series: No Good [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Castiel & Charlie Bradbury Friendship, Charlie Bradbury & Dean Winchester Friendship, Football Player Dean, M/M, Minor Dorothy Baum/Charlie Bradbury, Misunderstandings, Misunderstood Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-23 18:06:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7474434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauric/pseuds/Sauric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel Novak's uncle warned him about Dean Winchester.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dean Winchester is No Good

**Author's Note:**

> There are a lot of little things that aren't tagged to avoid ruining all of the surprises. Past John Winchester A+ Parenting/Overall Behavior mentioned/alluded to, though.

_Stay away from Dean Winchester_

That's what Castiel Novak's uncle had told him.

_Stay away from Dean Winchester._

From the first moment Castiel laid eyes on this boy, this Dean Winchester, he understood his uncle's words. Or at least he thought he did.

_Dean Winchester has a big ego._

Dean Winchester, who wore leather jackets and drove a gorgeous, sleek black 1967 Chevy Impala.

_Dean Winchester is a player._

Dean Winchester, who was constantly surrounded by pretty girls, smiling and chatting.

_Dean Winchester is a just another jock._

Dean Winchester, who played on the football team, always hanging around the rest of the team, laughing and cheerful.

_Dean Winchester thinks he's better than everyone else._

Dean Winchester, who was always late to football practice, sometimes late to school, and never yelled at for it.

_Dean Winchester is a lazy troublemaker._

Dean Winchester, who seemed to always be at the school at all hours, doing who knows what.

_Dean Winchester thinks he's smarter than everyone else._

Dean Winchester, whom his chemistry teacher insisted on pairing with him. Castiel was pretty smart, doing well in most of his classes, but chemistry was not one of them, so he frankly didn't understand why a failure like Dean Winchester would be paired with someone like him, a guy who wasn't likely doing that much better.

_Dean Winchester is a bully._

Dean Winchester, who Castiel heard shouting angrily in the halls one day. When Castiel turned the corner, he found gangly Garth Fitzgerald folded in on himself, books on the floor, and Castiel had nearly flown into a rage, until he realized Dean wasn't yelling at Garth. He was yelling at Gordon Walker, one of the other boys on the football team.

"Why are you being such a jerk, Gordon? Leave Garth the fuck alone, he never did anything to hurt you."

Gordon had snorted and waved his hand at Dean before storming off, and then Dean...stooped to pick up Garth's books, handing them back to the shaken boy and squeezing his arm, giving him a gentle smile.

"You okay, man?"

Garth nodded, not meeting Dean's eyes. Because of course, Dean was a jock. They didn't do things like this. They didn't care about anyone but themselves.

"If he messes with you again, let me know, Garth. That's not cool of him to pick on you, and I won't put up with it, okay?"

Garth looked up with the same surprise Castiel felt. "Really?"

Dean grinned and nodded. "Really, man. I'll see you later."

_Dean Winchester is a bully._

Dean Winchester, who seemed happy to spend time around a young boy with floppy brown hair. They spent a lot of Dean's free time together it seemed.

Castiel saw Dean and the boy together a lot of evenings and even some Sunday afternoons in the park, throwing a ball around, building a model airplane at the picnic table, sometimes swinging on the swings at the playground.

One day, he saw Dean give up his swing to an even younger and even smaller boy, and Castiel watched for almost ten minutes as Dean happily pushed the boy on the swing until a woman, the boy's mother Castiel assumed, came to collect the boy and shot Dean a grateful smile.

Another day, Castiel saw a little girl trip and fall and scrape her knee open. He watched as Dean wiped away her tears, cleaned up the scrape, placed a band-aid on it, and kissed the tip of his finger before touching it to the band-aid. Castiel was too far away to hear his exchange with the little girl, but she smiled and laughed before hugging him. She ran off, but a moment later, she was dragging an older man back with her, who shook Dean's hand and clearly thanked him. Dean's face turned red, but he smiled and nodded.

_Dean Winchester is a bully._

Dean Winchester, who had beautiful green eyes and gorgeous sandy hair and a warm smile every afternoon in sixth period chemistry lab for Castiel for months, even though Castiel never replied beyond an uninterested grunt or an occasional blank stare. Surely Dean knew the truth about Castiel and was just looking for a chink in Castiel's armor to go after him for it. 

Dean Winchester, who never got angry when a mistake was made, who just explained it in ways that always made sense so Castiel could fix it on his own.

Dean Winchester, who didn't even push back the day Castiel intentionally hip-checked him in the lab, even though Dean's hands were both full of glass beakers, apologizing to Castiel instead for being in the way.

Dean Winchester, who went from "Hi Cas! How was your day?" to "Hi Cas!" to "Hey!" to a smile and a wave, to just a tight, small, smile....until the day Dean Winchester came in and didn't even glance his way.

Later, Castiel overheard him begging their chemistry teacher, Mr. Edlund, to please assign him a different partner for labs. Castiel didn't stick around for the rest of that conversation, and the next week, he found himself paired with Meg Masters instead. That was the day that Castiel nearly broke down and talked to him.

His uncle had warned him, to protect him. His uncle said...

_Dean Winchester is no good._

It was better this way, right?

Castiel didn't even hear Gordon Walker come up behind him after sixth period on his way to his lockers. It wasn't until his books went flying out of his hands that he knew Gordon was there, and then he was pinning Castiel to a locker with a sneer. "What's up, fag?" Castiel's breath caught in his throat, a jolt of fear shivering its way down his spine. He shut his eyes and steeled himself, waiting to be another of Gordon's targets, because if Gordon knew, then Dean Winchester definitely knew.

But then...

"Get off him, Gordon!" Gordon lost his grip on Castiel's shirt as he was jerked away.

Castiel cracked open one eye slowly. Gordon's back was to Castiel now, but he was arguing with none other than Dean Winchester.

"What the hell's your problem, Winchester? Guy doesn't even like you, but you're gonna help him?"

Dean sighed, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up. "Dude doesn't like me, Gordon. I've never seen him do one thing wrong to you. You're not going after him to defend my honor, you're going after him to be a jerk. So if one of us is actually entitled to go after the guy for being an asshole, it's me."

Gordon stepped back, waving at Castiel in invitation, and Castiel tensed up again, eyes wide and fearful as he looked up at Dean. Dean stared passively at Castiel for a few moments before turning in anger back on Gordon. "I'm not like you. I don't pick on people for fun, or even for revenge. Guy doesn't like me, that's his business, but I'm not gonna beat him up for it. That wouldn't make me any better than him."

And then Dean Winchester, the so-called bully his uncle swore he was, picked up Castiel's books and thrust them at him. "Here, Cas. I gotta go."

"Wait, Dean! Are you going to Biggerson's today?" Cole Treton called as he swaggered up to join Gordon.

Dean smiled a little tightly. "Can't man. I have tutoring at 3 on Wednesdays."

Tutoring? "Perfect" Dean Winchester needed tutoring?

Cole waved him off. "Ah, yeah, I forgot. After the last game on Friday, then?"

Dean nodded, walking backwards away from them. "Yeah. See you later."

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Friday morning in home room, Castiel leaned over to his best friend, Charlie Bradbury, during morning announcements, poking her with a pencil.

She peeked up at him from her Game Boy through a curtain of red hair, tucking some of it behind one ear as she smiled at him. "What's up, Cas?"

"Do you know Dean Winchester?" Castiel asked, but he leaned back when her smile brightened into a full grin and she sat up.

"Heck yes, I do! He's awesome."

Castiel's brow scrunched.

When he hazarded a glance back up at Charlie, she was leering at him. "What about him? You have a crush on him or something and want dirt on him?"

Castiel grimaced, features twisting in disgust. "What? No. I just wondered if you knew him. He's in my sixth period chemistry class."

Charlie giggled slightly. "Yeah, I've known Dean for a while. He offered me a place to stay with his family once when we were younger and I'd had a fight with my mom and run away from home. Me, a total stranger, 'cause he wanted me to be safe. Turned out he's fun to hang out with--he went to the sci-fi convention with me last summer when you couldn't go."

Dean Winchester was a geek? What? 

Castiel's stomach rolled in sudden protest, and he winced.

A hand patted him on the arm, and his head jerked up to find Charlie eyeing him in concern. "Hey, Cas, are you okay? You look a little sick, maybe you should go to the nurse."

"I'm fine, Charlie," Castiel mumbled, pushing her hand off. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the bell rang and Castiel stumbled out into the hall before darting to his next class. Continuing his conversation with Charlie was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Castiel still felt unwell by lunchtime, poking at his sandwich with disinterest when Ash Harvelle slid into the seat next to him.

"What's eating you, man?"

Castiel glanced up at his friend, taking in his friend's blond mullet. "You know Dean Winchester by any chance?"

The grin on Ash's face was the only answer he needed; Castiel shoved his sandwich away, feeling like he could puke any second as Ash answered, "Sure! Guy's like a brother to me. I can always count on Dean for anything!"

Asking Ash's sister, Jo, resulted in, "Dean's all about loyalty to friends and family. He can be a bit of a teasing jerk sometimes, but kind of the way a brother does. He does it because he cares and wants people to loosen up, you know?"

Benny Lafitte, one of the guys on the football team, said, "Dean's great! He helped me get a job when I really needed one."

"Dean always tells it like it is, you know? A real honest guy," was the response of Victor Henrikson, another football player.

When Castiel asked Mr. Devereaux, the janitor, why Dean was sometimes at the school late, his reply was, "When Dean was volunteering to help the drama club build sets for their play, he noticed there were some other repairs being done around the building. So he started coming by a couple of evenings a week, with his own tools, mind you, to help me with repairs."

Even asking brilliant Kevin Tran what classes Dean needed tutoring in ended with Kevin flat-out laughing at Castiel. "Are you kidding me? Guy's smarter than I am! He doesn't need tutoring, man, he does it!"

As a last ditch effort to find something horrible about the guy, he even went to ask Lisa Braeden what she thought of him. Dean had rejected her when she asked him to Homecoming; surely she wasn't a fan of his. But no, all she had to say was, "He was really sweet and apologetic about turning me down, but he said he liked someone else so it wouldn't be fair to me if I didn't go with someone who liked me the same way. It was probably the cutest rejection I've ever gotten, to be honest."

"I didn't know Dean had a girlfriend," Castiel managed to stammer out quietly.

"He doesn't, as far as I know. Or a boyfriend." Lisa shrugged slightly. "Either he hasn't gotten up the courage to ask, or they turned him down. I don't see why they would, though, he's a really good person."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, Dean's the co-head of the GSA with Dorothy Baum. He's openly bisexual, which I think is pretty cool. He's spearheaded efforts here at the school to cut down the bullying on LGBTQ students and he's done an amazing job this year."

Dorothy Baum. Charlie's girlfriend, who, when asked, did nothing but gush about how kind and thoughtful Dean was, and how she would totally date him if she was straight--and how whoever he had a crush on was so lucky.

Castiel was fairly certain he was going to throw up any second now.

And as if that wasn't enough, one of the junior high girls he tutored in English, Jessica Moore, had to rush to explain why she was so distracted today. The source of her distraction? One Sam Winchester. And ever the glutton for punishment, Castiel was foolish enough to ask, "Does Sam have a brother?"

Jess nodded dreamily. "Yeah, an older brother, Dean. He goes to the same school as you, you know. Sam says Dean practically raised him from the time Dean was about four years old, after their mom died."

Did no one have anything unkind to say about Dean Winchester?

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Saturday morning, Castiel's 1978 Lincoln Continental decided to act up, so he brought it into town to Singer's Salvage and Auto, hoping they'd be able to take a look at it. But as he pushed his way into the lobby, cold shivers crept up his spine when he heard a familiar voice call out to cheerfully greet him, "Welcome to Singer's! We have a bit of wait, but what--"

Castiel's head jerked around, his eyes meeting with the gorgeous green eyes of none other than Dean Winchester, who was leaning on the front counter doing homework, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open slightly before he scooped up his books and shoved them into his bag, darting through the door behind him into the garage. Castiel could hear the faint sounds of arguing, the tone of Dean's voice pleading.

The door swung open again, and instead of Dean, an older gentleman with a beard and a trucker hat stepped through. "What can I help you with?" he sighed, seeming a bit put out, though not at Castiel.

"My, uh, my car's been making a strange noise. Does Dean work here?" Castiel rubbed at the back of his neck nervously, eyes on the cracked counter top as he set his keys down.

"Sure does. He's been running around the garage for most of his life, only seemed right to hire him when he got old enough." The older gentleman, Bobby said his name tag, glanced down at the key ring Castiel used. "You go to the same school as Dean."

Castiel nodded. "He's in my chemistry class. I'm struggling with it, but h-how's he doing?"

Bobby laughed and Castiel looked up, surprised. "You kidding me? Kid's got straight A's, honor roll, all while on the football team, working here, running a club, volunteering, still makes time for family and friends. He's going places, plans on going to college after high school for his degree in mechanical engineering to build things." Bobby's smile was friendly. "If you're having trouble with chemistry, you should ask Dean for help. He's a good kid, glad to help anyone who needs it."

Castiel's heart sank.

Half an hour later, when Castiel's car was fixed, it was Bobby who came back out to help him.

"Where's Dean?" Castiel asked, leaning to the side slightly to peer at the door to the garage, as if Dean would walk through any moment.

Bobby shrugged. "Went home early, said he wasn't feeling well and asked for the morning off. I told him to go home and get some rest." Castiel frowned. "Don't worry, he's just working too hard. He'll be right as rain in no time."

Castiel's uncle had said.....Castiel's uncle had said....

Bobby must be mistaken. Wasn't he?

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Monday rolled around, and by lunchtime, Castiel had been cornered by Jo, Ash, and Charlie.

"What did you say to him??" Charlie demanded, glaring at him in unveiled fury.

Castiel stared slack-jawed at his best friend. "T-to whom?"

She rolled her eyes, groaning in exasperation. "To Dean!"

"My dad said you came into the garage on Saturday to get your car fixed," Jo cut in, "and that as soon as you showed up, Dean said he was sick and left."

"So? He wasn't feeling well." Castiel glared at the three of them, trying to step past them, but they barred the way.

"He turned down my mom's homemade pie that evening, Cas," Ash said. "He turned down PIE. Dean Winchester turn down pie? He'd have to be DYING. Truly dying to turn down warm apple pie."

"And he said no to video games!" Charlie cut in. "And when Ms. Harvelle finally convinced Dean to talk about what was wrong, he said it was because you hate him!"

Castiel gaped, mouth opening and closing a few times wordlessly before he finally managed, "I-I don't hate him!"

"Yeah?" Jo countered harshly. "Well you sure as hell didn't give him that impression!"

"Whatever the hell you did, fix it, Cas," Ash growled, and Castiel glared at him.

"Who says I did anything wrong?!"

With the three of them scowling at him, Castiel grabbed his things and made a mad dash out of the lunch room. He studiously avoided them the next few days, hiding in the library during lunch behind the stacks.

And though he was tempted to skip chemistry, he didn't--although he might have hidden in the back row all week instead....

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It honestly wasn't until Thursday that inspiration really struck, and lunchtime found Castiel in the library, looking through old high school yearbooks. Flipping through the pages of one, he managed to locate his own uncle's photograph easily enough. Curious, he continued to flip from S for Shurley down to the W's, and there, nestled between Wheeler and Winters was one John Winchester.

Castiel tilted his head slightly, peering down at the face before him. He could see some of this man in Dean; he was fairly certain this man was Dean's father. He made a quick photocopy of the page and circled the man's face on the paper.

He gathered his things and darted down to the cafeteria, hoping to find his friends there, not at all surprised when he was met with a trio of deadly glares as he flopped down into the seat next to Jo.

"You still haven't fixed things with Dean--" Jo began to bark, but Castiel dropped the photocopy on the table. Jo cut off, and Ash picked up the page, glancing between it and Castiel.

"Okay, what about John Winchester?" Ash asked slowly.

"Is he Dean's father?" Castiel asked, point-blank.

Ash and Jo looked at each other, an expression of...fear on both of their faces, Castiel realized, before Jo finally answered, almost too quietly for Castiel to hear her over the din in the cafeteria. "Yeah. He is."

"Tell me about him." Castiel knew he was in no position to be demanding anything, but he hoped, really hoped they would oblige.

Ash swallowed hard. "He used to be our dad's best friend. Well, step-dad, but he's been dad to us long enough that doesn't matter." Ash coughed and cleared his throat. "Anyway, Mr. Winchester didn't....didn't handle it so good when Dean's mom died, or so our dad says. So our parents adopted him and his brother, Sam, after they had to live through some pretty rough conditions while they were younger. Our parents have been their parents for several years now, even though in a lot of ways Dean still acts like it's his job to be Sam's dad."

"Was he a nice man?" Castiel pressed, and Jo looked pained.

"No. He was drunk a lot of the time. Even before Dad and Mom adopted them, they'd be over at our house to get away from him, and he'd come over, still drunk to get them back. He was always rough on Dean especially, until one day, Dad got fed up and reported him. They had a huge fight, but in the end, the state took them away. It was hard on Dean and Sam at first because they got separated, but..."

Ash stepped in. "Our parents applied to be their foster parents and took them both in. I don't know how Dean and Sam both ended up being such nice people with a dad like John Winchester, but they did."

Castiel stared down at his hands for a few minutes before finally looking up at his friends. "I made a big mistake, didn't I?"

Charlie nodded, stabbing her fork in his direction. "Yeah, you did. Now fix it."

Castiel shook his head, closing his eyes and dropping his chin to his chest, completely ashamed. "I don't know if I can, Charlie. I was such a jerk."

"Try. At least try or I swear I'll never talk to you again."

Castiel's head jerked up at the threat. "Charlie, you wouldn't!"

"I would." The red-head was scowling at him so heatedly, he was surprised he hadn't burst into flames yet.

Castiel sighed. "There's one more thing I need to find out. Then I'll try. I promise."

That night, Castiel spoke with his uncle.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

On Friday morning, Castiel tracked down his friends, informing them of his plan. He spent the rest of the day fidgeting restlessly until sixth period, hazarding a glance over at Dean to see him lightly fingering along the edge of the note that had been slipped into his locker.

 

> Dean,
> 
> Meet me in Mr. Turner's classroom after sixth period.
> 
> -C

"C" could have been any number of people--let Dean think it was whoever he thought it was. Castiel just hoped it would be enough to convince him to show up.

When the bell rang and Dean went left towards Mr. Turner's room instead of right toward the exit, Castiel had to admit he felt a tiny jolt of relief. He let Dean get a head start, going to his locker and putting his books away, before he finally made his own way to Mr. Turner's room. At the edge of the door, he peeked in, Dean's back turned to him as he peered out the window, note in hand. So Castiel stepped into the doorway, clearing his throat slightly, and Dean jerked around to face him.

Castiel was not expecting Dean's reaction, the other boy's eyes widening in fear as he backed away toward the window. He lifted the note in one shaky hand. "Y-you're 'C'?"

Castiel nodded slowly, and to his surprise and alarm, Dean's chest began to heave, his breath quickening as his eyes darted restlessly around in search of an escape route.

"L-look, I gotta pick my little brother up right after school and drop him at the library so I'm not late for work, man, he's expectin' me, I gotta--I gotta--" Dean licked his lips, shifting away from Castiel.

Castiel felt a hot curl of shame sear through his belly. "Dean," he cut in, reaching for Dean, but the other boy only shied further away. "Dean, we need to talk. It's important."

"It's fine, man. Okay? It's fine. I get it. You found out I have a crush on you and it bothered you because you're straight. I stopped talking to you, hell, I even got you a new lab partner for chemistry class. I left you alone, so I would really appreciate it if you could just do the same, 'cause it's hard enough to like someone who doesn't like you back--" Dean's face twisted into a snarl, "--but it's even harder to like someone who turns out to be a vindictive jerk just like Gordon Walker!"

The anger melted from Dean's face just as suddenly as it came, and the blood drained from his features, leaving him pale as his eyes locked on the floor. Shaking slightly, he just barely whispered, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm sure you're a perfectly nice person. After all, Charlie, Jo, and Ash all like you."

Castiel gaped, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Dean liked him?

The shame in his gut grew, and he finally managed to snap his mouth shut and shake his head. "This isn't about that, Dean."

"Oh," the green-eyed boy barely managed to choke out. "Fuck, I should go, I need to go--" He fidgeted with his backpack, trying to edge around Castiel and escape the classroom.

"This is about the fact that your father used to pick on my uncle."

Dean froze, eyes darting back to Castiel's face, flared open and still showing fear, and a trace of anger returning to them. "So...so what? You think I'm just like him? You think I'm a bully, too?" There was the faintest hint of an edge to the questions, but it mostly sounded like Dean genuinely wanted to know.

"Was your father really a bully?"

Dean's eyes darted away again, dragging over the posters Mr. Turner had up on his classroom walls. It took a few moments for him to respond with a quiet, "Yes."

"Is he still a bully?"

Dean glanced at Castiel briefly, eyes just as quick to look away again. "He's dead. Drunk driving accident a few years ago. His fault. Bobby Singer and Ellen Harvelle adopted me and my brother after."

Castiel sighed, rubbing one hand over his face. His uncle had been wrong all along. And Castiel? He'd been wrong for listening to him. "I've been the real bully here. My uncle told me you were all of these horrible things--that you thought you were better than everyone else, that you thought you were smarter than everyone else. He told me to stay away from you. And being a good nephew, I listened. I listened to him because he thought he was protecting me."

"But I don't think--" Dean started as he looked up, but Castiel held up a hand to stop him. Dean's eyes dropped back to the floor.

"No, you don't. You're one of the kindest, most selfless, and most hardworking people I've ever met. My uncle thought you had turned out just like your father, and I didn't acknowledge what I saw with my own eyes, heard with my own ears, didn't want to listen to all the good things others had to say about you. I wouldn't deserve someone like you as a friend let alone as a guy who has a crush on me."

Dean flinched. "You didn't even know about that until I opened my big, dumb mouth, did you?"

Castiel bit his lower lip, waiting until Dean looked up at him before he slowly shook his head. "No. But it just made me realize that I was being an even bigger jerk than I ever thought possible." Dean winced, but Castiel plowed on ahead. "You deserve so much better than me, Dean. I treated you so poorly, and for all the wrong reasons. I didn't know you're bisexual. I thought you were straight." When Dean didn't reply, Castiel added hesitantly, "I made a lot of really foolish assumptions about you and I listened to someone who didn't know a thing about you, and I'm sorry, Dean. I was scared to like you. I was scared you were going to hurt me, so I hurt you instead."

Dean's mouth opened and closed a few times before it finally snapped shut. A few more beats of silence passed before he finally managed, "But you're straight, man. Aren't you?"

"Dean, I'm gay." Castiel frowned and fidgeted slightly with the hem of his shirt. "That's how Charlie and I became friends. She punched the guy who outed me against my will in middle school. He was nice at first, gained my trust, then....betrayed me. And after everything my uncle had said about you, I thought...we both thought..."

"You thought I was just like him."

Castiel winced and nodded. "And I was a huge jerk to a really gorgeous guy who actually liked me. So I guess I screwed that up completely. I'm sorry." He frowned at the knots twisting in his belly at the thought that he likely had broken things beyond repair with his thoughtlessness.

"You were a jerk, but I can't say I don't understand." Castiel peered up at Dean in surprise. "I came out because an ex-boyfriend threatened to out me. So I came out at my old school because if I was going to be out, it would be on my own terms. And then when Sam and I moved in with Bobby and Ellen and we switched schools, well...I never went back in the closet. Hell, I had to put Gordon Walker in his place after he tried to pick on me for being bi, and it was only because the rest of the team supported me and the coach threatened to kick him off the team that he stopped. I even run the GSA with Dorothy, Charlie's girlfriend. So I guess I just...assumed everyone knew," Dean replied. Abruptly Dean twisted away, glancing up at the clock and swearing. "Fuck, I gotta pick up Sammy--"

"Ash volunteered to pick up Sam, and he let Mr. Singer know you're going to be late to work," Castiel cut in, and Dean jerked back to face Castiel.

"Y--what? You got Ash in on this?"

Castiel nodded. "Plus Jo slipped the note in your locker, and Charlie wrote it since I was afraid you'd recognize my handwriting from chemistry."

Dean rubbed at his forehead. "I knew it was Charlie's handwriting. I thought she was 'C'...I wondered why the hell she'd write me such a cryptic note instead of just texting me."

Castiel shifted slightly. "I apologize for tricking you, but I didn't think you'd come otherwise. I didn't think you'd even talk to me."

"I, um. I can't say I would have, no."

"Right. So," Castiel said awkwardly, "I guess I should go."

Castiel turned to leave the classroom, but Dean was across the room in a surprisingly quick burst of speed--or perhaps not so surprising for the team's quarterback--with a hand on Castiel's arm to prevent him from going. "Cas, wait!"

Castiel paused, peering up at Dean in uncertainty, and Dean drew a deep breath.

"I, uh, I feel like we should maybe start over again, from the beginning."

Castiel sighed, a relieved rush of air. "I'd like that."

Dean worried his lower lip in his teeth, the corners of his mouth turning up. "Yeah? I'm Dean Winchester," he said, sticking his hand out with a wide grin.

Castiel nodded, and smiled back, taking Dean's warm hand in his own. "Dean Winchester, I'm Castiel Novak. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Dean grin shifted into a small smirk. "Well, Castiel Novak. Would you go out with me?"

Castiel gaped at Dean. Was it really so simple that Dean could forgive him enough to give him another chance? He watched as Dean's expression went from hopeful to confused concern and realized he still hadn't replied. He finally managed to blurt out, "Yes! Yes, I would love to go out with you. How about a movie on Saturday? My treat?"

Dean chuckled. "Hey, wait a minute, I asked you out. Shouldn't I pay?"

Castiel laughed softly. "You can pay for popcorn, deal?"

"Deal."

_Dean Winchester is everything Castiel Novak could have ever hoped for._


End file.
